Harold and Barb Chamberlain pose in their Oneida home on April 18. The couple are avid volunteers in the Oneida area, and Barb is currently co-organizing the “Got Talent?” talent show fundraiser for the Oneida Healthcare Extended Care Facility at the Oneida High School on May 3.
Photo Special to the Dispatch by Mike Jaquays

Oneida-Sherrill Lions Club members Harold Chamberlain, left, and Steve Johnson serve a tasty meal at the Madison House Restaurant in Oneida during the Lions’ annual spaghetti supper fundraiser on April 15.
Photo Special to the Dispatch by Mike Jaquays

ONEIDA >> Barb and Harold Chamberlain don’t take vacations -- they don’t have the time, because of all of the volunteer activities they do together and separately throughout the area.

Together, they have offered countless hours to Oneida area facilities like the Madison County Historical Society, the First United Methodist Church, and the Kallet Civic Center. Separately, Barb also volunteers with the Oneida Library on their board of directors and as a member of their Friends of the Library group, as well as with the Oneida Healthcare Auxiliary, while Harold is an active member of the Oneida-Sherrill Lions Club.

All combined, those efforts add up to thousands of unpaid hours that not only saved the facilities countless dollars, but also gave the couple much quality time to work together, while doing their part helping make the community of Oneida a better place.

Barb is currently spearheading the upcoming “Got Talent?” talent show fundraiser on May 3 for the Oneida Healthcare Extended Care Facility. She said this is a year when the Oneida Healthcare Auxiliary traditionally hosts their fundraising Follies event inviting people from the community to the stage for an evening of skits and musical acts, but this year they decided it was time and cost prohibitive.

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Instead, she suggested hosting a talent show, an event that had been a big success for the Kallet Civic Center twice during her time as a volunteer there. The “Got Talent?” talent show held in the Oneida High School auditorium on May 3 will welcome amateur contestants -- chosen during auditions on April 5 -- to share their abilities, while raising money to purchase folding chairs for the rooms of every patient at the ECF.

Brett Bogardus of Bogardus Performing Arts Center in Oneida is the show‘s producer. Drummer and Oneida High School junior Gunnar Coston, 16, is bringing out an amalgam of his two bands Coston and Let‘s Go Quietly to emcee the event and play a set during intermission.

Professional judges will be brought in to the talent show from out of the area to be totally impartial. They will choose the winners in three categories: 8 to 12 years old, 13 to 18 years old, and older than 18. Prizes are $500 for first place, $250 for second place, and $100 for third place.

Tickets for the “Got Talent?“ talent show are $10 each and available at the Oneida Healthcare gift shop and Oneida Commons in Oneida, and Sandy’s Floral in Canastota.

“I think this will give people the opportunity to show their skills and maybe even give some of the younger ones the confidence to try out for a school play or a little theater production,” Barb said.

Meanwhile, Harold will be familiar face to anyone who came out for the Lions Club’s spaghetti supper fundraiser April 15 at the Madison House Restaurant in Oneida -- he was behind the trays of pasta and sauce serving up the tasty meals. Despite nasty weather that evening, the event turned out to be a big success for the Lions as it brought in a record amount of donations that will be used for scholarships for Oneida and Vernon-Verona-Sherrill High School seniors pursuing higher education in a medical field.

The couple met in 1953 thanks to a cousin of Harold who worked with Barb. Their first date was to see a 3D horror movie at the Kallet Theater, and they’ve now been married 57 years. Harold served in the Air Force from 1951 to 1955 and retired from the former Griffiss Air Force Base. Barb is retired from North Broad Street Elementary School, where she worked as their secretary. The couple have one son, Jeff, who lives in Oneida. They now share their home with their beloved 14-year-old Springer, Molly.

“She’s gone along with all of this nonsense over the years,” Barb joked. “She sees us heading towards the door and thinks, ’Are you leaving again?’”

Harold worked at the Cottage Lawn headquarters of the Madison County Historical Society for 27 years, retiring last year. He said he enjoyed most the peace and tranquility of the job, especially on a certain day during a strawberry festival some 15 years ago.

“It was a great strawberry shortcake day, with the sun shining and birds singing,” he recalled. “It was very peaceful.”

While Harold did inside maintenance chores and outside yard work, Barb joined him at Cottage Lawn as their secretary and in other volunteer posts. They also worked together for years at the Kallet Civic Center, the former theater turned into a community facility, and Harold even became their president for three years.

Even though they’ve retired from both Cottage Lawn and the Kallet, they still find little time for a vacation thanks to their other volunteer work. Barb says she doesn’t feel they’ve missed out, because their volunteerism has given them the opportunity to work together on projects that are close to their hearts.

“We’ve been truly blessed,” Barb said. “With all of the things we’ve done, we’ve been able to do many of them together.”

About the Author

Mike Jaquays, a nearly life-long resident of Sherrill, is a freelance writer at the Oneida Dispatch. Mike graduated from St. Bonaventure University in 1986 with a degree in mass communications and is now on a quest to spotlight the extraordinary stories of ordinary folks. He also spanks a mean bass with the Oneida-based classic rock band Coston. Reach him at mikejake1164@gmail.com or follow Mike on Twitter @mikejake1164 Reach the author at mikejake1164@gmail.com
or follow Mike on Twitter: @mikejake1164.